Iraq Taps Its Oil Riches, But Risks Deter Big Investment

 LONDON - Nine years after the U.S.-led invasion, the Iraqi government says the country is emerging as a global energy giant. A conference in London has brought together leading figures from the government and the oil industry to try to boost investment in Iraq. But, several risks remain - not least the growing instability in some of Iraq's neighbors.

Iraq's government says recent explorations show the country could be sitting on the world's largest oil reserves at up to 350 billion barrels.

The figure is unproven, but many agree that Iraq has huge untapped potential.

The Iraq Petroleum¹ 2012 Conference in London (June 18-20) brought together Iraqi government and industry figures. Among them was Bayazeed Hassan Abdullah, an Iraqi lawmaker and member of the parliamentary Oil Committee.

"By the end of 2017, Iraq can produce 12 million barrels a day," he said. "And also it has a huge gas (potential) in Iraq because each barrel, when extracted, it is accompanied with 600 cubic feet of gas."

Among the speakers at the London conference was Tony Hayward, the former chief executive of BP, who left the company following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He now runs Genel Energy, the largest oil producer in northern Iraq.

"Across Iraq today, there's a desperate need for significant new infrastructure² to allow the country to truly emerge on the world stage as a major supplier of oil and gas to the world," he said. "Perhaps more importantly, to provide a growing quality of life for the citizens of Iraq."

After decades of war and sanctions, Iraq's oil and gas infrastructure lags behind other leading exporters.

Exxon and other foreign oil giants have signed deals to develop wells and pipelines³, but experts say Iraqi politics is holding back overseas investment.

Paul Stevens is with the independent policy institute Chatham House.

"They're going to have to get a petroleum law passed to allow the international oil companies to come in on a risk-taking basis rather than as service companies," he said.

Analysts⁴ highlight other risks, notably⁵ ongoing⁶ sectarian violence.

The northern semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan stopped oil exports to Baghdad earlier this year in protest over non-payment.  Iraq lies at the heart of a region undergoing huge political upheaval⁷ - and shares borders with Syria and Iran.

Iraq's former National Security adviser⁸, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, spoke⁹ at the London conference.

"Now all politics are regional and maybe even global," he said. "Anything happening in Syria, Egypt, Yemen, and the list goes on and on, it will affect Iraq."

Despite the risks, Iraq exported more than 2.5 million barrels a day in April, more than at any time since the 1980s.

1 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

8 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。